The Great Schism
by BackgroundRobot-11
Summary: As the Covenant Civil War rages, the Separatists and the UNSC must put aside their differences if they are to survive, both the Loyalists and the ever growing threat of the Flood. Chapter 1 has been updated with additional scenes and more detail.
1. Race Through High Charity

The Sangheili, Voro 'Tuyokee, panted as he took cover behind an archway. Cautiously, he peered out from his hiding place and was dismayed by what he saw.

It was two lances, comprised mostly of Kig-Yar, but with two Jiralhanae leading them. They were standing in front of a gravity conveyor, apparently guarding it. Voro was sure that he could take out the Kig-Yar, but with two Jiralhanae backing them, things were certain. Stupid brutes were an apt way to describe them, but they were stupid, _durable _brutes. He had to think this particular battle through if he was to beat them. It would be a nightmare if an overcharged plasma bolt struck him while he was fighting one of the Jiralhanae. He had seen that happen to other, less fortunate Sangheili when he and Dedap had been fleeing. Voro grimaced, that was no way for a warrior to die. To be torn limb from limb by a species of degenerate primates, it was undignified! Shameful!

"Leader, what do you see?"

Voro turned to see a small figure clad in emerald green armour and carrying a plasma cannon stare up at him.

"Be quiet, Dedap. The danger has not yet passed." Voro replied as he took another glance out into the open.

The Unggoy seemed to freeze at that statement "What do we do now?"

Voro opened his mouth to speak, but a growl from the nearby Jiralhanae silenced him.

"Let's just move on! We're missing out on all the action!" One of them snarled.

"Not yet! Our orders are to guard this gravity conveyor in case any of the heretics dare to show their ugly heads here!" The other barked, spittle flying from its mouth.

"Bah! We could be out killing Sangheili, but they have us guarding bridges! This is an outrage!"

"Of course...we could just have the Kig-Yar guard it for us..." The second one murmured, a scheming glint lighting his eyes.

"An excellent suggestion. Not like they care either way." The first said, scowling at the Kig-Yar.

The two barked orders at the soldiers in their command. The Kig-Yar bristled at their words, but seemed to relent. With raucous laughter, the two Jiralhanae ran off, holding their vicious looking weapons high. Voro pressed himself into the arch as they ran past. He had to suppress an urge to gag; their stench was brief, but overwhelming. They reeked of tainted meat and wet animal. Did these savages not bathe?

Nevertheless, Voro's eyes widened. Surely this extremely good luck was a sign from the Forerunners? He turned to Dedap, who was quivering in fear.

"Dedap! Cease your cowardice! The Jiralhanae have departed!" Voro snapped, shaking his underling out of his stupor.

"So it is safe? We can leave?" Dedap asked hopefully.

"Not yet. They have left a handful of Kig-Yar behind. Once we deal with them, we will be able to leave." Voro said as he readied his carbine.

Dedap suddenly took on an expression of extreme malice "Kig-Yar? They left us Kig-Yar to deal with?"

Voro nodded "Indeed they have. Do you think yourself capable of handling them?"

"Of course, leader! I am an Unggoy Heavy. I am a proud wielder of turrets and explosives! They are mere scavengers!" Dedap hissed with contempt.

Voro could not help but chuckle. For a cowering Unggoy, Dedap did occasionally show signs of spirit.

"Alright, I will rush out at them. While I have them distracted, you shall surprise them. Am I understood?" Voro asked.

Dedap nodded furiously "Yes, leader, of course!"

"Good. Now, on the count of three..." Voro raised his fingers, lowered them one by one before rushing out, firing at his enemies.

Caught unaware, two Kig-Yar were immediately cut down by carbine shots to their heads. They tumbled lifelessly to the floor, their purple blood coating the ground beneath them. Surprised, the remaining Kig-Yar snapped their shields on and turned to face their foe. The closest one only saw a flash of silver before it was upon him. A mighty, armour plated arm came crashing down onto his shield, sending tremors through his arm. The Kig-Yar let out a shrill squeal as it felt the bones it his arms snap under the force of the blow, his now useless arm was dangling at his side. Fortunately, he did not suffer long, as Voro swung his carbine into the side of the Kig-Yar's skull, utterly obliterating it. Fragments of bone and brain matter were sent flying. This act alone was enough to terrify the Kig-Yar, who struggled to maintain rank after what they had seen. Dedap saw a few attempt to flee and mercilessly cut them down with his turret, burning searing holes through their scaly hides.

"Keep firing, Dedap! They are weakening!" Voro shouted as he turned to face the surviving soldiers.

Now they had rallied together into a tightly packed phalanx. The ones in front began to fire their weapons at Voro, forcing him to rush back into cover. Dedap huddled beside him, his arms cradling his cannon protectively.

"What do we do now, leader?" Dedap asked, a frenzied look in his eye that suggested that fleeing was the last thing on his mind.

"A distraction would be helpful." Voro said, staring meaningfully at Dedap.

"I understand, leader. Lucky it's just incompetent Kig-Yar." Dedap said.

Voro nodded, holding back the urge to point out how skilled Kig-Yar sharpshooters were "Indeed. Now, run. While they're focusing on you, I will finish them."

Dedap nodded and quickly ran out into the open. Their bloodlust clouding their judgement, the Kig-Yar all opened fire, turning to fire at the lone Unggoy. Using the distraction, Voro primed a plasma grenade, before throwing it into the midst of his foes. They had just enough time to let out a brief wail of despair, before the explosion consumed them. The blast knocked Dedap to his feet and caused Voro to stumble back into the wall. The Kig-Yar were much less fortunate. Those closest to the explosion were completely vaporised. Those further out were reduced to charred corpses, their limbs badly mangled. Their weapons were rendered completely useless, having fused into the floor or exploded outright. The ground beneath them was badly damaged and an ugly black mark was where the Kig-Yar had been standing.

Voro steadied himself and allowed a moment for his ears to stop ringing "Good, Dedap. You may yet prove useful to me."

Dedap nodded appreciatively "Thank you, leader! What is our next objective?"

"Now we must find a landing pad, it is our only chance to escape."

"But, leader, the Jiralhanae-!" Dedap began.

Voro swiftly cut him off "Yes, I am aware that it will be dangerous, but we have no other option. To remain here would mean forfeiting our lives. We will be safer if we get to the Sacred Ring."

"A-are you certain, leader?" Dedap asked.

Voro stared down at the Unggoy Heavy "Yes, Dedap, I am sure. But if we are to survive, we must make haste."

Dedap took a deep breath and nodded before he made his reply "I understand, leader. I am ready."

Voro returned the nod "Excellent, quickly then, if we remain here any longer, we run the risk of being discovered by those mongrels."

Dedap quickly slung the cannon over his shoulder and made to move past his commanding officer, not noticing the bemused expression of Voro's face.

"Are you coming, leader?" Dedap questioned when he noticed that Voro had not left the relative safety of the archway.

"Yes, but do you not think it would be wise to leave the cannon here? You have a needler, surely that should be sufficient?" Voro asked.

Dedap seemed mortified at the very idea of leaving his cannon behind "Leave it? But, leader, it is my duty as an Unggoy Heavy to maintain this weapon!"

"Perhaps, but if you insist on carrying it around, it will only prove to slow us down." Voro said.

"Leader, I promise that it won't slow us down, I will keep up, you'll see!" Dedap insisted.

Voro shook his head, not willing to waste further time on arguing on the matter "Very well, but you must keep pace with me, or else I will be forced to leave you behind."

Dedap began nodding furiously "I understand, I will keep up!"

Voro took one last look at the dead marine before he hurried off, Dedap struggling to keep pace.

* * *

><p>"By the Rings…the Jiralhanae…" Voro whispered as he stumbled across the aftermath of a battle between the Jiralhanae and a group Sangheili and Unggoy.<p>

It had been a massacre; the Unggoy had been utterly broken in many different places, evidently having been tossed about like ragdolls. Some had been dismembered entirely, and their bright blue blood mixed with the purple of the Sangheili and the black of the Jiralhanae. The Sangheili, if possible, looked even worse, having been mutilated beyond recognition by their foes. Voro wrinkled his face in disgust when he realised that some of his brothers had not only been mangled and riddled with plasma fire, but partially _eaten_. Although disheartened by the sight, Voro did take some solace in that for all the Sangheili and Unggoy casualties, there seemed to be twice as many Jiralhanae corpses, all thoroughly riddled with plasma scoring, leaving their corpses as little more than badly charred sacks of meat and terribly burned fur. The smell was less than pleasant to say the least, and Voro momentarily found himself envying Dedap and his breath mask. Clearly it had taken the combined efforts of dozens of the mongrels to take the Sangheili down.

Dedap panted as he came to a stop behind Voro, already regretting his decision to carry his cannon "Leader, what-?" Dedap followed his commander's gaze and saw what had happened, letting out a shriek of horror and fear.

"Silence!" Voro barked "If any Jiralhanae remain in the area, you will reveal our presence!"

Dedap hurriedly clamped his mouth over his mask, but began to shiver, thoroughly shocked by what he had seen.

Voro sighed in annoyance "Calm yourself, Dedap, or I shall leave you behind!"

Dedap struggled to stop his shivering, managing to partially suppress it "I-I will be calm, leader."

"Good, now, be ready for combat, there's no telling when we shall next taste combat." Voro muttered as he readied his carbine.

"Y-y-yes, leader…" Dedap stammered, pulling out his needler with one hand while still steadying the cannon in the other.

The two hurried away from the violent scene, weapons prepared in case of a sudden ambush.

Further ahead of them, a small group of Jiralhanae were lumbering along, two lagging behind due to one being injured and another supporting him. They were a part of the pack that had decimated the group of Sangheili and Unggoy that Voro and Dedap had stumbled upon. Of the forty-two Jiralhanae that had gone to crush the Sangheili resistance, only a pitiful nine were left. None of them were in particularly good condition, with even the least injured nursing plasma burns, needler punctures, scratches and other wounds. Their armour bore signs of heavy plasma scoring and noticeable dents. Some had been rendered bald in places where their hair had been singed off. Smatterings of blood marked where they had been, creating a gruesome trail.

At the head of the pack was one of the two surviving captains, he growled and turned to face the two who were lagging behind "Culmus! Leave him behind, he's done for!"

The Jiralhanae Major, Culmus, looked up, shock in his eyes "But…Pack leader, he is still alive!"

"He's too injured to do anything but slow us down!" Spicus snapped, spraying flecks of spit onto the subordinates who were unfortunate enough to be standing too close to him.

The injured Jiralhanae, the captain Chronus, lifted his head to face Spicus "I still…breathe…I can still…serve the Prophets…serve our Lords…" Even speaking was an effort for the injured Jiralhanae, who bore the most injuries out of the pack. The skin around his face had been nearly torn off by a particularly tenacious Unggoy. His stomach had been pierced multiple times by a number of needler rounds, and had even received a shallow cut at the hands of a Sangheili's energy sword. That he was even capable of standing was a testament to his strength.

"I refuse to abandon my captain!" Culmus spoke up.

Spicus scowled "Fine, if you insist on dragging around that dead weight, then you may, but we will not wait for you!"

At that, Spicus growled a command to the other Jiralhanae, and they proceeded to hurry ahead of the two who were behind them. A few looked back, before proceeding forward.

"I thank you…for not abandoning me…" Chronus murmured, his strength fading.

"My loyalty to the pack is strong, as strong as my faith, captain." Culmus replied.

"I know, I witnessed…your potential when you…cut down those vermin Sangheili and their…ugh, worthless supporters…" Chronus said "You have proven yourself as a warrior."

"Thank you captain, but I was only doing what the Prophets commanded. The Sangheili brought this down on themselves when they rejected the Great Journey, when they abandoned the Prophets. Their heresy shall cost them dearly." Culmus muttered.

Chronus looked like he was about to say something, but stopped and raised his head before sniffing the air "That…that smell…"

"What is it, captain?" Culmus asked.

"Sangheili!" Chronus exclaimed.

Culmus whirled around as best as he was able while still supporting Chronus. His captain was correct; standing behind them was a Sangheili Ultra, his silver armour gleaming brightly. Beside him was an Unggoy Heavy, a turret set up in front of it, aimed squarely at the two Jiralhanae.

"Your senses served you well, mongrel." The Sangheili said with a snarl as he raised his carbine.

A single shot rang out and Culmus looked on in horror as it struck Chronus, going through his eye and into his brain, killing him instantly. Culmus felt Chronus' body slacken as his life ebbed away. Black blood and the remains of punctured eyeball seeped down Chronus' face, before settling in his hair. The Spiker that he had been carrying dropped to the ground with a clatter that seemed deafening to Culmus.

A fierce anger coursed through Culmus and he let out a bellowing roar. Voro couldn't help but cringe, the stench of his breath, a disgusting odour that reeked of dead flesh even from where he stood, was rank and overpowering. Culmus' grief and rage at the murdering Sangheili dog made him lose all sense of restraint; he tossed aside his plasma rifle and charged his foes. Voro had anticipated this and quickly drew his energy sword, plunging it into Culmus' stomach as he ran at him. Unfortunately, Voro was used to striking down Human opponents with his weapon. Having never taken the life of a Jiralhanae, he had failed to take into consideration the thickness of his skin, or the fact that the adrenaline pumping through his veins deadened his sense of pain, allowing Culmus to reach new heights of aggression and strength. He found himself being driven backwards as Culmus continued to power into Voro. Even as Voro was struggling to keep from being overpowered by the savage, he could not help but bristle as Culmus' matted, blood-soaked hair ran across his skin. Truly the Jiralhanae were a repugnant species.

Dedap yelped in fear as his leader found himself being pressed back further and further, his attempts to dig his heels into the ground doing nothing, not even slowing down his foe.

"Dedap! Fire your weapon, now!" Voro shouted as Culmus snapped furiously, trying to rip the helmet off of his enemy.

Dedap froze momentarily, his fear overtaking him. He knew that if he did not do something quickly, his leader would die, but his sheer terror was overpowering. He found himself rooted in place as tremors started to run up his body.

"Do it now, Dedap!" Voro cried, before Culmus took a swipe at Voro's head, dazing him.

Dedap snapped out of his stupor and swivelled his cannon around, before opening fire on Culmus. The blasts of superheated plasma cut straight through the Jiralhanae's flesh, burning him horribly. The smell of burnt hair and overcooked meat drifted through the air. Culmus let out a bellow of pain and rage as the cannon fire cut into him, filling his body with an agonizing burning sensation. He turned to face his attacker, snarling and spitting in anger, murder in his eyes. It proved to be a fatal mistake as Dedap launched a volley of shots straight into his face, burning the skin away. What little flesh was left served to turn Culmus into a terrifying parody of a living creature. Culmus let out a sickening death rattle, before collapsing sideways.

Voro yanked his sword out of the corpse, before turning to his subordinate "I must admit, your actions are commendable, Dedap. I would have perished if not for you."

Dedap was unaccustomed to such praise, having been looked down upon by the Sangheili and the Jiralhanae all his life, above only the Huragok and the mindless Yanme'e "T-thank you, leader. I am proud to serve under you."

Voro nodded his head, noting that he was growing some attachment to the Unggoy "And I am proud to fight by your side."

Dedap was about to say something else, when something caught his eye "Leader, look!"

Voro turned to follow Dedap's gaze and was surprised by what he saw: Dozens upon dozens of Huragok, armoured and unarmoured alike floating away from a platform a few meters down.

"Huragok! What are they doing? They act as if there were some sort of threat!" Voro noted.

"Perhaps the Jiralhanae have taken arms against them too?" Dedap suggested.

Voro shook his head "Doubtful, the Huragok are too useful to kill, and I doubt the Prophets would authorise such an act."

Dedap watched the Huragok float away, before noticing something else "Leader, look! A Phantom platform!"

Voro realised that his companion was right, a Phantom platform was indeed within their sight, below them.

"We must make haste if we are to get there. I doubt it will be easy." Voro noted, before turning to Dedap. "I would tell you again to abandon your cannon, but since it has saved both our lives, I will relent."

"Thank you, leader." Dedap said, adding a slight bow.

Voro nodded once more "Now come, we have little time to spare."

And at that, the two hurried away, desperate to reach the Phantom Platform and the safety that it suggested.

Neither noticed the cold, hungry, animalistic eyes that observed them from the landing above, desperate to claim them for its cause.

* * *

><p>Voro and Dedap moved through the halls as quickly as they could, aware that those loyal to the Prophets could strike at any time.<p>

"Leader, what-?" Dedap began.

Voro quickly cut him off, raising his hand to his mouth "Sssh! I hear something…"

Dedap was silent and became aware of a low, droning sound, almost like the beating of dozens of wings…

The glass set in the walls above them smashed outwards and a number of Yanme'e swarmed in, weapons raised.

"Quickly, bring them down!" Voro ordered as he fired his weapon into the swarm.

Dedap yelped as he set up his cannon with all the speed he could muster. Once he was done, he aimed it as high as possible and fired into the swarm. Dedap was lucky, despite being more heavily armed, the Yanme'e were concentrating all of their firepower on Voro, whose shields were more durable than Dedap's armour. Voro found himself firing wildly into the air. With so many Yanme'e, there was little need to precisely aim his shots, merely firing up would suffice. As he fired into his foes, their white blood began to rain down onto the pair and their surroundings. It was soon accompanied by pieces of severed chitin and insectoid limbs.

Dedap's weapon was proving to be as effective, if not more so than Voro's skill with a carbine. Indeed, the high rate of fire and area of effect it provided was perfect for mowing down the tightly packed, swarming legions of the Yanme'e, who found themselves with gaping, smoking holes in their bodies. Limbs, heads and even entire torso were summarily vaporised by Dedap's fire.

"Leader, they are falling!" Dedap cried as more and more Yanme'e were cut down.

"You shall have to try harder than that, vermin!" Voro taunted as a number of shots came down around him and Dedap.

The battle was brief and, in Voro's opinion, rather pathetic, the Yanme'e had not even managed to breach the shields on his armour and Dedap had not even been grazed in the fire fight.

"If this is all the effort the Jiralhanae can muster, we shall have wiped them all out before nightfall." Voro muttered with disdain as he kicked a Yanme'e onto its armoured back, noting the blacked mark on its chest where Dedap had winged it.

"We did it, leader! We won!" Dedap cheered as he packed up his cannon.

"This time, Dedap. Doubtless there will be more foes further ahead." Voro said, turning to face Dedap.

With the brief skirmish over, the two continued on their way, remaining on alert as they passed through a number of halls and passages. Soon, the two came across a large door.

"Stay here, I will check to make sure that it is safe to proceed." Voro advised, holding up a hand to halt Dedap's movement.

Slowly, Voro proceeded further until the door lit up and opened. Voro quickly ducked to the side as he saw that the following room was filled with Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar, all standing around impatiently. One of them looked towards the door as it opened, before realising that no one was there.

"Feh, must be faulty." He snorted, before going back to polishing his spiker.

"Leader?" Dedap whispered "What do we do now?"

"We will have to find another way past, there is too much of a risk here, we would never make it out alive." Voro replied in a hushed tone.

He was annoyed that it had come to this, having to divert from their current path would cost them time, and the longer they spent out in the open, the higher the chance that they would be killed.

Voro opened his mouth to issue another order, but was cut off when a deafening crash filled his ears. Dedap let out a shriek as he was knocked to the ground, his weapon clattering loudly behind him. Voro, despite his more substantial weight, was also knocked down, where he fell in an undignified heap. He let out a groan and tried to recover from the sudden tremor. Voro realised with a jolt that it came from the room they had just realised was inaccessible.

"W-what was that, leader?" Dedap asked wearily.

"I do not know Dedap…" Voro whispered.

Suddenly, they could hear the sounds of shots being fired in the adjacent room, and the sounds of frantic Kig-Yar. The Jiralhanae bellowed in what sounded like shock. Dedap and Voro shared apprehensive glances as sounds of the fighting raged on for almost a minute.

Suddenly, there was silence.

Voro glanced at the door separating the two rooms apprehensively, before motioning for Dedap to remain where he was. Again, the door flashed as Voro approached it before it opened, but this time, the sight on the other side was vastly different. Voro gasped at what he saw. A Human dropship had crashed through the wall and was currently lying on its side. What truly shocked Voro however, were the corpses of the Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar, who had been overwhelmed by a new enemy. The enemy, Voro was horrified to realise, was the Flood. Dozens upon dozens of skittering Infection forms rushed to perform their macabre duty. Voro shuddered; they were truly hideous to look upon. Their bloated, sickly coloured flesh, their waving, blood-red feelers and their multiple slimy tentacles. Such creatures were unholy, demonic, more than that, they were _evil_. As Voro watched, they began to bury their way into the chests of the Jiralhanae, causing the corpses to twitch and flail as the Flood worked to rework the nervous systems of their victims. Their tentacles worked quickly to force an entry into the chests of the Jiralhanae. Their feelers twitched constantly, as if the Flood were excited. They waved wildly, erratically. The process was disgusting to watch as the corpses twitched constantly, their limbs flailing madly, as if performing some kind of morbid dance.

Voro reeled back, a look of pure horror etched onto his face. The Flood? Aboard _High Charity_? How was such a thing even possible? They were contaminating the holy city with their demonic filth! Such a thing was unthinkable! Voro shook his head, he could worry about this later, right now he had to focus on surviving.

Voro turned to Dedap, trying to conceal the fear in his eyes "Dedap, we will have to move quickly."

Dedap was unnerved "W-what is it, leader?"

"Never mind, just listen to me! We must proceed through the room as quickly as possible. Do not stop for anything! Do you understand me, Dedap?" Voro questioned.

Dedap was on the verge of a panic attack, but managed to hold himself together, barely "Y-y-yes, leader…I-I understand…"

Voro gave a quick nod, before running through into the next room. Dedap squeaked and ran as quickly as possible, desperate to keep up with his leader. As he ran, he realised exactly what had caused Voro to act so strangely. All around them, the corpses of the Jiralhanae were beginning to move as the Flood started to work many of their disgusting, slimy tentacles into hosts. They pierced and wormed their way into the flesh, before hurriedly burrowing into the chests of the corpses. They did it all so quickly, so fluidly, that they almost seemed to dissolve into the skin. The act of taking control of their hosts would delay them somewhat, but not for long, necessitating that Dedap and Voro hurry through the room as quickly as possible.

Dedap's eyes widened in alarm. He was a coward, he knew that, prone to panic when faced with superior numbers. But he would rather be facing a whole army of Demons than the Flood. Such a fate was unthinkable, to be killed and turned into a walking puppet for the mindless parasites. Dedap had to suppress a shudder and ran even faster.

Suddenly, something slammed onto Dedap's back, causing him to collapse onto the ground "Leader!" Dedap cried out.

Voro turned to see a Flood infection form scrambling over Dedap's combat harness, rapidly moving towards the cowering Unggoy's head. Voro let out a roar before he lunged towards the parasite, managing to grab onto it as it was about to strike its tentacles into Dedap's head. Voro growled as he crushed it in his grip, causing it to pop, sending pieces of flesh flying. Voro shook his arms in disgust as its disembodied tendrils tried to weakly attach themselves to his limbs. Dedap breathed a sigh of relief, believing the danger to be over. Suddenly, a scurrying sound filled their ears, and Voro looked up to see a number of infection forms crawling along the walls. On the ground, the Flood had finally completed taking over the Jiralhanae and were getting to their feet, all turning to stare at the two non infected aliens.

"Hurry, Dedap!" Voro exclaimed, firing into the Flood, but was dismayed to see that his shots were having little effect on the Flood controlled Jiralhanae. He paused just briefly to throw a plasma grenade, before turning to flee. He felt the explosion rattle his bones and shake his teeth, but did not stop to see the results. He doubted that the explosion had managed to kill all of them.

Dedap quickly scurried to his feet, picked up his dropped cannon and fled the room in fear. Voro glanced back to make sure that the Unggoy was safe, before he backed out of the room, still firing shots to waylay the Floods advance. As the Flood continued forward, Voro ducked into the room behind him, panting as the doors closed, the infection forms not having enough mass to trigger the doors. He looked behind him and was dismayed to see Dedap running around the room in a blind panic.

"Dedap, halt! Dedap!" Voro commanded in a stern voice.

Dedap flinched as his commander's voice reached his ears, before collapsing to the ground, apparently in the midst of a panic attack. Voro growled as he crossed the room and picked up Dedap, shaking him furiously in the hopes of shaking him from his stupor.

Finally, Dedap appeared to calm down "Leader! I-I am c-c-capable again…"

Voro dropped Dedap to the ground "Good, be sure that you remain capable. I have no use for a cowardly soldier who cannot perform his duty."

"I understand, leader." Dedap muttered.

"Good. Now, we must hurry, the phantom platform is but a short distance away.

* * *

><p>At that, the two continued their advance, now with the fear of not only coming across a Jiralhanae patrol, but also a Flood ambush. The two suddenly found themselves in a room filled with the corpses of Jiralhanae and Sangheili and Human infected Flood. It was a gruesome sight to behold, all present were badly mangled. The Flood had been annihilated with plasma blasts, leaving little left but sickening piles of smoking, dead flesh. The Jiralhanae on the other hand, had been filled with Human ballistics; multiple gaping wounds littered their bodies, a rather distasteful sight.<p>

"L-leader…" Dedap whispered.

"Stand firm, Dedap, they are all dead." Voro assured him.

The two ventured out onto what they had been so desperately searching for: The phantom platform. The two became apprehensive as they saw a downed Human dropship and more Flood corpses, as well as two deceased Unggoy. The two were relieved however, when they saw a single phantom was docked on a platform to the right.

"Leader! We're saved! Thank the Rings!" Dedap cried.

"Perhaps, but we must approach with caution." Voro said as he wearily stepped up to the phantom.

No Flood came crawling out from under the platform, no Jiralhanae came rushing out, but Voro kept his guard up. He stepped onto the fin on its back and opened the rear door, peering in cautiously. To his immense relief, the inside appeared to be clear. Voro sighed and leaned against the rear opening. Suddenly, a groan filled his ears. Voro's eyes snapped open and he whipped out his energy sword. For the first time, he noticed a figure slouching in the pilot's seat. Its hand twitched before the figure slowly stood up. It turned around to reveal an infected Jiralhanae. Voro roared before he rushed towards it, plunging his sword into its stomach. Liquefied bone and flesh seeped slowly through the wound, seeming to bother the mobile corpse little. The Flood peered down at the blade, before it raised a hand. Voro scowled before driving the sword straight up through the Flood's body, splitting it from stomach to skull. With a groan, the Flood collapsed.

"Come in Dedap, it is safe now." Voro murmured, collapsing into the pilot's chair.

Dedap ran into the phantom, squeaking as he saw the body of the Flood, carefully stepping around it. He was about to close the rear door, when he noticed a number of Huragok were floating towards the phantom. Dedap stared in surprise as roughly half a dozen Huragok entered the phantom and floated towards the roof. Voro glanced at them briefly, before returning to the controls.

"We can leave now, leader?" Dedap asked expectantly, tearing his eyes away from their passengers.

"Not quite, Dedap. We cannot abandon our brothers to die here; we must try to rescue them." Voro said as he began to power up the phantom.

"But…but, leader-!" Dedap began.

"Man a turret, Dedap, I have need of your skills." Voro said, cutting off Dedap.

Dedap considered arguing more, before deciding that it would do no good, Voro had his mind set. Besides, even he felt some apprehension at the thought of leaving his fellow Unggoy behind. His mind flashed back to his brothers. Two had perished when the Demon had destroyed the first Halo, and the others were stationed around High Charity. He shuddered at the thought that they could be dead at the hands of the Jiralhanae or the Flood.

"I understand, leader, and I will obey." Dedap replied, adding a slight bow before he rushed to command the bow mounted turret.

"Good, Dedap." Voro murmured wearily, finally finished with his pre-flight preparations.

The phantom took off and Voro began his search for other survivors of the Jiralhanae treachery.


	2. March of the Sangheili

Well, here it is, the second chapter of _The Great Schism_. As usual, I do not own Halo or any of the characters that are associated with Halo. No surprises there. Anyway, this chapter focuses on a different group than last time and features a wider range of characters. So, without further ado, we hope that you enjoy the following chapter, please remember to review and finally…thanks for reading.

* * *

><p>Akha 'Xykalee growled as he noticed plunged his energy stave deep into the heart of his Jiralhanae foe, twisting it to maximise the damage. The Jiralhanae spat blood, staining the hilt of the stave, to Akha's disgust and he quickly wrenched it free. As the Jiralhanae slumped to the ground, Akha turned to survey the group he was travelling with. They were faring well, and all around them, Jiralhanae and their Kig-Yar allies were falling.<p>

"Commander, I have brought you a gift." The Sangheili Major, Ronan 'Nbekee said as he held out a Kig-Yar's severed head by the quills, as if presenting it to the Honour Guard.

"Charming." Akha muttered, rolling his eyes "How do we fare?"

"We lost Jaqo and two Unggoy in the attack, but the rest of us remain in good condition." Ronan replied.

Akha sighed "Jaqo was a good warrior, may he swiftly walk the path of the Great Journey."

Ronan nodded "Indeed. But if we wish not to join them, then we must hurry on."

"Very well, we shall go…leave your "prize" behind." Akha ordered, motioning to the head Ronan held.

"As you wish, commander." Ronan said as he unceremoniously tossed the head over his shoulder.

The head happened to land in the outstretched hand of an Unggoy Minor, who let out a shrill squeal before dropping it and running off. Akha rolled his eyes in disgust, in his mind, the Unggoy were little more than cannon fodder, not worthy of weapons. Still, given the situation, exceptions would need to be made. Besides, the Unggoy could always serve as distractions should the situation arise.

The group followed Akha as he led them through _High Charity_, in search of a ship that could safely ferry them away from the Jiralhanae infested city.

"Have we arrived yet? Have we arrived yet? Have we arrived yet?" Ronan asked incessantly.

Akha growled as he turned to face his comrade "Ronan, hold your tongue before I rip it out!"

Ronan chuckled "As you wish, commander. I live to serve you." At that, he added a mock bow.

Akha frowned, something would need to be done about Ronan's sense of humour. He opened his mouth to reprimand Ronan, but was interrupted by a loud whooshing sound and a gust of heavy wind which knocked most of the Unggoy off of their feet. Akha's eyes widened in alarm as he witnessed a human spacecraft fly by the walkway his forces were standing on, before going out of sight.

Over the city's loudspeaker's, the Prophet of Truth's voice blared "_Be glad! A reward for all your toil and your sacrifices in the year at hand."_

"By the Forerunners! A Human vessel has infiltrated _High Charity_?" A stunned Special Operations Sangheili by the name of N'tho 'Bandolee, gasped.

"Invasion! The Demon is coming!" An Unggoy Minor shrieked.

"He will kill us all!" Another shouted in panic.

"Silence! I don't know what those nonbelievers think they can achieve by invading our holy city, but we shall repel them like we shall repel these Jiralhanae mongrels! This is our vessel and no force, Jiralhanae, Human or any other shall conquer it! By the end of the cycle, we alone shall stand victorious!" Akha snarled, raising his energy stave above his head.

All around, the Sangheili under Akha's command roared in support, with some of the braver Unggoy cheering alongside them.

"A very stirring speech, commander. However, if we are to survive, I suggest we move out immediately, or else risk…" At this, Ronan slid a finger across his throat and rolled his eyes back in his head.

Akha growled "Very well, we move."

The group hurried along the series of pathways and catwalks, still searching for a means of escape. Several times Akha had to snap at the Unggoy to keep pace.

"Commander, look!" Ronan shouted, pointing to the sky.

Akha followed his gaze to see a Human dropship flying nearby. Shots rang out, and he followed them back to see a platform loaded with Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar and Yanme'e fire on the human ship.

"What madness is this? The fools will be slaughtered if they think to land there!" N'tho exclaimed.

"Curious, why don't they return fire?" Akha murmured.

The reason soon became all too clear as the rear hatch on the dropship opened and dozens upon dozens of Flood infection forms poured out onto the unsuspecting Covenant Loyalists.

A number of Akha's troops swore or gasped as they witnessed the attack, shocked by what they were seeing.

"By the Rings! The parasite? Aboard _High Charity_?" N'tho gasped.

"A terrible fate indeed." Akha muttered as he witnessed the Flood swarm a Jiralhanae.

"Still, better them than us." Ronan said dryly.

"It will be us unless we flee. There will surely be more of them." A Spec Ops Unggoy named Fezal pointed out.

Akha tore his gaze away from the carnage "As much as I am loathe to admit it, the Unggoy is right. We must hurry along if we are to prevail."

"Look, one still holds out." N'tho said, pointing to a lone figure on the platform.

They realised he spoke the truth, a Kig-Yar sniper was holding off a number of Flood combat forms, his back to the very edge of the platform.

"His skill is admirable…" N'tho murmured as the sniper took out three infected Jiralhanae in rapid succession.

"Still, he is completely surrounded, no chance of surviving." Akha replied.

"A day's rations he dies in the next two units." Ronan spoke up.

"I say within this unit alone!" Fezal exclaimed, an unmistakable note of sadistic glee in his voice "Stupid Kig-Yar, he can't win! He should turn the gun on himself!"

"The fool, he's leaving his left flank totally unprotected!" Akha said.

It was true, the sniper was focusing entirely too much on his front and right flanks, oblivious to a combat form that was creeping up on him. By the time the infected Jiralhanae had wandered into the sniper's peripheral vision, it was far too late. The Kig-Yar attempted to swat the Jiralhanae away with his rifle, only to be tackled, sending both of them off of the platform.

"Pay up, Sangheili!" Fezal ordered, laughing with malicious glee.

Ronan grumbled under his breath as he handed a rations pack to the Unggoy "The little cannon fodder thinks he's so special just because he can blend in with the background."

"My active camouflage serves me well! What do you have, Sangheili?" Fezal questioned.

"A plasma launcher aimed at your head!" Ronan snapped as held up his weapon.

Fezal growled and raised his own weapon, a fuel rod cannon.

"Enough! Both of you, stand down!" N'tho barked, stepping between the two.

Fezal snarled as he hesitantly obeyed his superior's order, but was surprised to see Ronan chuckle.

"I think I like this Unggoy, he has spirit!" Ronan exclaimed, half in surprise "My congratulations for training him so well."

N'tho and Fezal stared at Ronan in disbelief, surprised by his sudden change in attitude.

"Fool." N'tho muttered after a brief period of silence.

Akha, who felt that he had held his tongue for long enough rose to his full height and began to issue commands to his troops "We have delayed for long enough! We are moving out immediately! Any more delays and I will ensure that those responsible will be dealt with swiftly!"

The Unggoy grumbled as they got to their feet, having used the standoff as an excuse to rest, while the Sangheili gave their weapons quick examinations before walking after Akha.

* * *

><p>As Akha had dreaded, they soon encountered more Flood. This time however, the encounter would prove to be in their favour.<p>

"Hold fast!" Akha ordered, holding his fist in the air.

The Sangheili and Unggoy behind him immediately stopped in their advance and looked around in order to see what had provoked the response. The silence allowed them to hear the sounds of a fight, of shots being fired.

"More allies?" N'tho questioned.

"Perhaps…or perhaps more Flood." Akha muttered with disdain.

"Allow me and the Unggoy to deal with them! None will survive our might!" Ronan boasted, causing Fezal to give him a puzzled stare.

Akha peered around a corner and witnessed a Lance of Kig-Yar fighting a number of Flood infection and combat forms. To Akha's surprise, he saw that they were being lead by a Skirmisher clad in orange armour. He had thought the Skirmisher subspecies to have been totally exhausted during the Battle of the Human world, Reach. Evidently, there were still some left. Despite himself, Akha found himself being impressed by the skill of the Skirmisher, who was almost effortlessly cutting down the Flood with the aid of a Needle rifle.

Still, even with his combat prowess and leadership skills, the Skirmisher could not prevent casualties. A Minor had his neck snapped like a dry twig when a combat form swung its arm into its throat, another was quickly overrun by infection forms and a Major soon found himself at the mercy of the Flood when his plasma pistol ran out of charge. Then, it was just the Skirmisher, a Minor and a sniper.

"They are thinning the Flood." N'tho noted.

"Yes, how unexpected." Akha murmured.

Fezal scowled "Cursed scavengers!"

Ronan chuckled "Bloodthirsty too, my respect for you is increasing, Unggoy!"

Soon, only the infection forms were left, and they were soon mopped up by the remaining Kig-Yar. Exhausted, the trio took the reprieve in combat to rest themselves, setting their weapons down.

"Fools, they leave themselves vulnerable!" Fezal hissed in contempt.

"Yes, they do…" Akha mused, before turning to N'tho "Can you lead your forces and capture them?"

N'tho nodded "It will be an easy matter, my men all equipped with active camouflage."

"Excellent, attempt to capture them alive if possible, but lethal force is authorised if necessary." Akha ordered.

"Very good, commander." At that, N'tho turned to face his Special Operations Sangheili and Unggoy and barked orders at them "Wort, wort, wort!"

At that, all those equipped with active camouflage activated it and began their task of capturing the Kig-Yar.

"Subtlety, commander? Hardly your usual style." Ronan noted.

"Sometimes a change in tactics is necessary, Ronan. You would do well to remember that." Akha murmured as he kept an eye on the Kig-Yar.

The Spec Ops were operating well, as the Kig-Yar were yet to detect their presence.

The Skirmisher sighed and got to his feet, before bending over to reach for his rifle. He bristled when he became aware that it was no longer where he had left it. He looked around in alarm, before his eyes widened in shock. At that point, N'tho uncloaked to reveal himself standing directly behind the Skirmisher, his arm around its throat, his plasma rifle pointed at its head. The other Kig-Yar shot up, only to look around in shock as more Sangheili and Unggoy proceeded to reveal themselves.

Pleased, Akha signalled to his men to go out in the open as he approached their captured foes.

The Skirmisher growled as Akha approached him "I assume there is a reason that we're not dead yet?"

"Yes, we require information, and you will give it to us, unless you wish to forfeit your lives?" Akha said.

The Kig-Yar being held by Fezal hissed and tried to get out of the Unggoy's grip, to no avail, before speaking in a low voice, little more than a whisper "Sangheili fool! Commander Kik fought at Reach! I fought at Halo! I was injured there! The Demon himself did this!" At that, he motioned to a scar on his throat, where a bullet had clearly punctured the flesh.

Akha sneered "And allowed it to be destroyed, weakling! Perhaps I should execute you now for your cowardice and your heresy?"

The Kig-Yar hissed and snapped at Akha, before clawing at Fezal's arm.

"Stupid Kig-Yar!" Fezal snapped, before striking the Kig-Yar on the back of the head, stunning it.

"Calm yourself, Six!" Kik ordered to the stunned Kig-Yar "I will provide your with information, provided we escape with our lives."

"I make no promises, Skirmisher. However, if you don't tell us what we want to know, then you will assuredly perish. It is up to you." Akha said.

Kik snarled, before facing Akha directly "Very well. What is it that you wish to know, Honour Guard?"

Akha leaned down close to Kik's face "Why have the Jiralhanae openly declared war on us? Why are you siding with them? Most importantly, why are the Prophet's doing nothing to stop it?"

Kik appeared to be confused "Declared war? We were told that the Sangheili were staging an uprising! We were given orders to put it down and kill any that allied themselves with you!"

Akha growled "Sangheili uprising?-! Who has fed you these lies?-!"

"The Prophet of Truth himself! He ordered this!"

Akha paused, and all around him, the other Sangheili seemed stunned. The Prophets had betrayed them? Impossible! Unthinkable!

"You had better not be lying, mongrel serving vermin! If I discover that you have, you will wish that the Flood had taken you, it would be a more merciful fate than what I intend to do!" Akha snarled in fury.

"The ever present Sangheili charm, I see." Kik muttered.

"Now, tell me why I should not execute you and your men?" Akha asked.

"We both know that the Kig-Yar have no particular loyalty to the Covenant, we don't even share beliefs! As it is, if you promise us our lives, we will fight by your side." Kik replied.

"Better Sangheili and their cannon fodder than those mindless savages." The remaining Kig-Yar, the sniper, muttered, glaring at the Unggoy, who proceeded to glare back.

"Silence, Gaz!" Kik snapped.

Gaz growled at the Unggoy, before biting his tongue.

"More troops would be useful." N'tho whispered to Akha.

"Yes, and besides, we can always use them as cannon fodder!" Ronan added, a grin on his face.

Akha considered adding the Kig-Yar to his ranks. After a moment, he signalled to the Spec Ops to release them.

"Ah, a wise choice, commander, a very wise choice. I assure you that my men will-" Kik began.

Akha quickly cut him off "Silence, scavenger! You and your men are coming with us, but we will not give you your weapons."

Kik quickly began to protest "How can we help if we are not armed? You know that we have no real loyalty to your Prophets! We're mercenaries!"

"And so you cannot be trusted. Trusting someone so willing to betray their faction is a risk I cannot take. If your prove yourselves, then I may reconsider. Until that time, you will go unarmed." Akha explained.

Kik scowled as N'tho released him, before motioning to Six and Gaz, who reluctantly handed over their weapons.

"When the time calls for it, you will be sorry that you robbed us of our weapons, Honour Guard." Kik whispered angrily.

"We shall see, Murmillo, but honestly I doubt that very much." Akha replied.

Wordlessly, the newly reinforced group trudged on, the Kig-Yar being led to the front to use their point defence gauntlets to defend those behind them.

"Do you even know where you're going, Honor Guard?" Kik questioned.

"Of course I do, Murmillo! I've lived and served on _High Charity_ while you were still a Minor!" Akha snapped.

"And I was fighting on countless Human worlds while you were sitting here comfortably, performing an entirely ceremonial duty!" Kik shot back.

Akha growled and seized Kik by the throat "Hold your tongue, Murmillo! Have you forgotten that you are in the presence of your superiors?"

Kik struggled to speak as Akha squeezed his windpipe "I have k-killed...over a dozen...Humans! How many...h-have...you?"

Akha snarled in disgust and contempt, before dropping the Skirmisher Murmillo to the ground, where he lay gasping and clutching at his throat "Wretched little scavenger!"

At the front, Six and Gaz glanced back, their contempt highly visible on their faces.

"Eye's forward, shields!" Ronan ordered.

The Kig-Yar grumbled under their breath, before going back to facing the front. The group trundled on until they encountered an empty platform.

"Brilliant, a dead end, what wonderful leadership skills our "glorious" leader possesses." Kik muttered as he glanced over the edge.

In response, Akha kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling dangerously close to the edge "Silence, scavenger! If you wish to see the end of the day you'll keep your beak shut!"

Kik growled in defiance as he pulled himself up, gnashing his teeth in fury.

"What now, commander?" N'tho asked.

"We turn back and try to find another way to the ship bay." Akha replied.

"We may have a difficult time doing so." Ronan said.

"And why is that?" An irritated Akha questioned.

"Because we've just been joined by a pack of Jiralhanae!" Ronan pointed out as he drew his weapon.

Akha cursed "All forces set up defensive positions! Show them no mercy, give them no ground!"

"Kill them! Bring me their heads!" The pack leader of the Jiralhanae forces bellowed.

The two forces opened fire on one another, quickly cutting the front lines of both forces down. A number of Unggoy were quickly ripped to shreds by the Jiralhanae's weapons, their blood and severed limbs soon covering the deck of the platform. The Sangheili were faring little better as a number of them broke ranks in order to directly engage the Jiralhanae. They were soon cut down, with a number of them falling to the pack leader and his gravity hammer, which he wielded to great effect. One particularly unfortunate Minor had his ribs caved in and his heart crushed when the hammer was slammed into his chest.

"Commander, if we continue like this, we will not have any Unggoy left!" Ronan shouted as he fired at the opposing forces.

"Bah, it matters not, they are of little use to us!" Akha replied as he speared a Jiralhanae Major through the throat, relishing the sounds of its fear and pain as the life slowly drained from its eyes.

"We will need them if we are to strike up a resistance force!" N'tho pointed out "We are too few in numbers!"

Akha growled in annoyance "Fine! All Unggoy forces, move to the rear! Sangheili, activate your shields!"

At once the Sangheili activated their wrist mounted point defence shields, causing diamond shaped, triple layered shields to crackle to life. The Sangheili quickly huddled together in order to maximise their defence. The pack leader roared in frustration, now it would be much more difficult to achieve his task, he hadn't even been aware that the Sangheili had point defence shields.

"Commander, Phantom coming from the rear!" N'tho said.

Akha turned to verify the statement and felt his stomach drop. If the Phantom came in behind them, they would be slaughtered.

"Glory hogging scum, he seeks to take them for himself!" The pack leader rumbled.

The Phantom hovered behind the Sangheili forces for a moment, before suddenly swerving to the side and coming to a stop in front of them, shielding them from the Jiralhanae fire. The side hatch opened and an Unggoy Heavy stood there, a portable cannon in front of him. Above him, a number of Huragok floated aimlessly.

"Hurry, hurry! We must flee!" The Unggoy shrieked.

Akha turned to Ronan, a surprised look on his face. Ronan chuckled, before running into the Phantom. Akha quickly shook himself out of his stupor and turned to his remaining forces "Quickly, on to the Phantom!"

They needed no further initiative as his forces swarmed into the Phantom.

"I'll take the turret!" Ronan shouted with glee as he moved to operate one of the Phantom's turrets.

"As will I." N'tho added.

"I have the third!" The Unggoy heavy said.

Akha however, snarled and shoved the Unggoy out of the turret "Out of my way, Unggoy, the turret is mine! Take your cannon and fire out the side hatch!"

The Unggoy whimpered, before moving away from the turret.

The three Sangheili took aim and fired on the stunned Jiralhanae, who were quickly mown down by the searing bolts of plasma.

"A job well done, those mongrels never saw what hit them." Ronan said.

"Yes, now time to meet our saviour." Akha replied as he headed towards the cabin of the Phantom.

"Well, well, well, I see the great Akha 'Xykalee still breathes." The pilot said.

"As I live and breathe, if it isn't Voro 'Tuyokee." Akha replied, stunned.

"I must say, even with your considerable skills, I did not expect you to have survived." Voro said, glancing at Akha's battered figure.

"Nor I you, my friend." Akha said with a nod.

"How many are you?" Voro questioned.

* * *

><p>There were fourteen in all, not counting the Huragok or the Kig-Yar. Seven Unggoy, consisting of two Spec Ops, two Minors and Three Majors and seven Sangheili, Akha, the sole Honour Guard, two Minors, two Majors and two Spec Ops.<p>

"Not much of an attack force." Ronan noted as he cradled his weapon.

"No, regrettably not, but we are still Sangheili, the mightiest warriors of the entire Covenant." Akha replied.

"And with us are the cannon fodder and the pacifists. Terrific." Ronan said dryly.

"The Huragok can be of some use, they can repair our armour and armour and they can shield us in battle." Akha pointed out.

"Akha, may I see you in the pilot's cabin?" Voro asked over the Phantom's com.

Akha nodded to N'tho "Make sure the Kig-Yar don't do anything foolish, I shall return momentarily."

N'tho nodded in return before turning back to keep an eye on the Kig-Yar, who were sitting in a corner, glowering at the Unggoy.

Akha entered the cabin, where Voro and a Major were sharing piloting duties, while a Minor took on the role of navigator.

"What is it, Voro?" Akha asked.

"We're low on power, unless we refuel, we will not be able to reach the surface of Halo." Voro replied.

Akha cursed under his breath "And where is the closest refuelling station?"

Voro looked grim as he pointed to a monitor showing a heavily Flood infested area.

"It is dangerous, but regrettably it is the closest." Voro said.

Akha nodded grimly "If it is the only course of action..."

And so the Phantom flew on to the refuelling station, weary of the dangers they knew lurked in the area.

* * *

><p>On the platform, the Flood wandered around, searching for any bodies that they may have missed in order to add them to the biomass of their new hive. Suddenly, they heard a noise above them, causing them to face upwards...<p>

...In time for most of them to be cut down by plasma bolts. They fired back, only for their weapons to ineffectually bounce off of the hull of the Phantom. Soon, the deck was cleared of any visible Flood, allowing the Phantom to touch down on the platform and refuel. The side hatch opened and many of the Sangheili and Unggoy pouring out, closely followed by the Huragok, who provided shields for them. Dedap followed them, unfolding his cannon onto the deck.

"Stay close to the Phantom and stay together! We don't want any parasites near us!" Akha shouted as he took point, his energy stave clutched firmly in one hand.

The soldiers quickly began the process of refuelling their transport out of High Charity, their weapons held at the ready in case of an ambush from either the Flood or the Loyalists.

"No doubt others would have heard, we were not exactly subtle." N'tho said, scanning the area for threats.

"We'll just have to endeavour to make this go as quickly as possible then, won't we?" Ronan asked.

The process of refuelling was almost done and it looked as if the Separatists would get away without running into further difficulties, where it not for the sudden shriek of a combat form. The Separatists turned to face it and saw that it was not alone as dozens of Flood came rushing at them.

"The Flood are upon us! Open fire!" Akha shouted as he brought out two plasma pistols and levelled them at the Flood before he opened fire on the oncoming wave of enemies.

Many Flood were quickly blown away by the incoming volley of plasma bolts, but it seemed as if for every one that was slain, two more would take its place. The few Flood that were armed attempted to returned fire, only for their shots to be absorbed by the energy shields provided by the Huragok. Soon it looked as if the platform would be overrun and the Sangheili and the Unggoy had to back up in order to avoid the incoming Flood.

"Voro! Are we ready?" Akha shouted into the cockpit.

"Close enough, but if we are to survive, we must pull back now!" Voro shouted back as he monitored the fuel gage of the Phantom.

"All forces, fall back to the Phantom! Fall back!" Akha roared as he provided covering fire for his retreating soldiers.

There was a mad rush amongst the Separatists as they simultaneously hurried back onto the Phantom. The Unggoy quickly fled back aboard as the Sangheili and Dedap provided cover fire for them. As the last of the Unggoy ran into the Phantom, they were closely followed by the Sangheili as Dedap hurried to disassemble his cannon.

"Dedap! Move, quickly!" Voro commanded as the Flood rushed towards their position.

Dedap shrieked in fear as he saw the Flood running towards him. He picked up his cannon and fled towards the safety of the Phantom. He was close to making it back inside when a combat form clipped Dedap's leg with a shot from its pistol.

"Leader! Help me!" Dedap pleaded as he fell onto the deck of the platform, his cannon spilling out of his grasp.

"Leave him! We need to get out of here!" Akha ordered.

"Leader, please!"

Voro hesitated for a moment before rushing to Dedap. He hurriedly grabbed him by the back of his combat suit, before flinging him into the Phantom, only stopping to pick up the Unggoy's cannon.

"Go, go!" Voro shouted as he leapt into the Phantom.

"At once, commander." The pilot said as he closed the door and lifted off.

"That was reckless 'Xykalee! Risking your life for an _Unggoy!_ And look at him! He'll never serve us fully with an injury like that! He'll be stuck with a limp for the rest of his life!" Akha admonished.

"I could not abandon him to die at the hands of the Flood." Voro replied "No doubt if it had been one of our own, we would not be having this argument."

Akha scowled at Voro's defiance, before turning and walking into the cockpit "The sooner we get out of _High Charity_ the better..."

* * *

><p>As the Phantom exited <em>High Charity<em>, they were greeted by an incredible sight.

"By the Rings! It's chaos out here!" The pilot exclaimed.

All around, fighting was occurring as battle cruisers blew each other away. Seraph Fighters streaked past, firing death and destruction at their targets.

"It's much worse than I thought..." Akha murmured as an assault carrier was blown to pieces.

A shot of plasma streaked past their Phantom, snapping them out of their stupor.

"That was too close for comfort!" The pilot said.

"Indeed, get s out of here before we're killed!" Akha ordered.

The pilot nodded as he plotted a course straight for Delta Halo, flying past a number of heavily damaged ships.

* * *

><p>"Another Sangheili ship is down, your eminence." Erebus, Shipmaster of the CCS-class Battlecruiser, the <em>Righteous Flame<em> _of the Hierarchs_ relayed to the Prophet of Remorse.

"Excellent Shipmaster, you have proven that your faith is strong today." The Prophet of Remorse replied, nodding to the Shipmaster.

Erebus bowed his head in acknowledgement "Thank you, your words honour me."

"Sir, we have a single troop carrier attempting to flee the battle. They appear to be heading towards the surface of Halo!" One of Erebus' crew alerted the Shipmaster.

"Who would dare? Is it one of ours?" Erebus questioned.

"They've ignored any attempts at contact, besides, no Jiralhanae would abandon the battle, unlike the Sangheili, we are not cowards!" The Communications officer boasted, looking towards the Prophet of Remorse.

"As the crew of this fine vessel has demonstrated to me today, the fortitude of the Jiralhanae is strong, commendable." The Prophet of Remorse replied, to the delight of the Communications officer.

"We must not allow those filthy Sangheili to defile the Sacred Rings! Open fire! Send a wing of Seraph Fighters after them!" Erebus ordered.

The Prophet of Remorse looked up at Erebus in shock "You would waste our weapons on a single Phantom full of heretics? You would send a wing of Seraph Fighters? Shipmaster, you overestimate these heretics!"

Erebus blinked in surprise "But, they-!"

The Prophet of Remorse held up a hand to silence Erebus "They must not be allowed to reach Halo, true, but to concentrate solely on a single target during the midst of a raging battle is foolish. No, send...two, three Phantoms after them, that should do instead."

Erebus gaped, not used to having his orders derided as foolish. Nevertheless, he turned back to his station "Understood. Three Phantoms, no more, no less."

The Prophet of Remorse smiled "Very good, Shipmaster, now, let us return our concentration on the task at hand."

* * *

><p>"Commander, three enemy Phantoms tailing us! They're closing in on us!" The pilot said to Akha.<p>

Akha cursed, he had not anticipated that they would be noticed in the chaos of the surrounding battle.

"Evasive manoeuvres! Lose those mongrels!" Akha barked the command.

The Sangheili Phantom began ducking and weaving through the area, trying to lose their pursuers.

"Open fire on them!" Akha commanded those who were assigned to man the turrets.

"At once, Commander!" N'tho replied as he, Ronan and Voro rushed to their posts.

The Phantom fired on the three Jiralhanae Phantoms behind them, managing to scar the bow of the Phantom taking point. In return, the three enemy Phantoms did the same, forcing the pilot of the Sangheili Phantom to veer suddenly to avoid the plasma bolts.

"Hold still, I can't get a good shot!" Ronan shouted as his shots flew far from their intended targets.

"And get ripped to shreds? Not a chance!" The pilot retorted over the com.

Suddenly, a beam of energy ripped through space and obliterated one of the pursuing Phantoms.

"Ha, it seems we have an ally!" Ronan said.

"More likely just a stray shot." Voro replied as he took aim on the remaining Phantoms.

"Either way, one less little problem for us, it's surely a sign that the Forerunners favour us." Ronan said.

As he said that, one of the Jiralhanae Phantoms let loose a volley of shots, a number of which ripped into the hull of the Phantom.

"Argh! Damage report!" Akha shouted as the Phantom rocked suddenly.

"It's not looking good, Commander, another shot like that could end us! As it is, we'll be lucky if we land this thing in one piece!" The co-pilot replied.

Akha cursed, before turning back to the pilots "How long until we land?"

"A few more minutes but...Oh...By the Rings..." The pilot drifted off.

"What? What is it?" Akha asked.

"We're heading straight into the Quarantine Zone!" The pilot said, the alarm evident in his voice.

"The Quarantine Zone?-! Is there no way of avoiding it?" Akha questioned.

"Our systems are too damaged, we won't be able to reach anywhere else safely!"

As if to emphasize the gravity of the situation, another round of shots struck their Phantom.

"Starboard engines are down!" The co-pilot informed Akha.

Akha growled, before striding to the com "All soldiers, brace for impact, this landing will _not _be pleasant!"

* * *

><p>And, end of chapter 2. I know, the Elites having shields seems like something I made up for this fic, but they were in the beta version of Halo and are canon, they were featured in a Halo comic. The next chapter focuses on an Elite shipmaster, his crew and their three Human prisoners. So, we hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please remember to review and finally...thanks for reading! Until the next chapter.<p> 


	3. Mutiny aboard the Twilight Inquisitor

On the bridge of the _CCS-class _battlecruiser, the _Twilight Inquisitor_, Shipmaster Ikha 'Rithinee closely examined the Combat Information Centre of the ship. He frowned and pulled his doarmir fur cloak closer to his armour as he stared intently at the CIC, not liking what he saw.

"Something wrong, Shipmaster?" Ikha's first officer, Vako 'Wamikee asked as he paused in his routine of pacing around the control room with the other members of Ikha's personal guard to face his commanding officer.

"It's strange, I'm getting unusual readings from over half of the ships in the fleet." Ikha replied, not turning to face Vako.

"Unusual readings, sir? Could you elaborate?"

"The ships in question are all sending full power to their defensive systems, it's almost as if they're expecting an attack." Ikha said, turning to his subordinate, confusion etched on his face.

"Perhaps the Shipmasters are merely growing restless, impatient. We have not seen combat for some time now, perhaps the lull in combat is taking its toll?" Vako offered.

"Hmmm, possibly, Vako, it would seem to make sense, all of the ships diverting power seem to be those under the command of the Jiralhanae."

"Ah, you see? As I said, the savages are merely restless, no doubt they'll stop wasting energy when their commanding officers realise what they're doing." Vako said sagely.

"With any luck the foolish mongrels will overload their defences and-" Ikha began, only to be cut off by a sudden alarm.

"Shipmaster! One of the ships in the fleet has been destroyed!" Noga 'Qibilee, another member of Ikha's guard reported as he examined a holographic panel.

"What? How could this be? No enemy forces have been detected, have they?" Ikha asked, clinging tightly to his cloak.

"No sir! It-it appears that it was destroyed by one of our own ships!" Noga said in shock.

Ikha and Vako exchanged looks of surprise, before a sudden tremor ran through the ship.

"Damage report!" Ikha demanded as he steadied himself.

"Sir, it appears that we've been struck with a projectile from a pulse laser turret! It came from the _CAS-class _assault carrier, the _Purity of Sacrifice_." Noga said.

"Impossible! Why would one of our own attack us?" Vako questioned.

"Sir, incoming transmission from the _Purity of Sacrifice_!" The Communications Officer, Jora 'Lhorasee informed the Shipmaster.

"Bring it up, I wish to talk to the fool who dared to attack us!" Ikha ordered.

At once, the image of a Jiralhanae Shipmaster appeared before the bridge crew, an unpleasant smirk upon its hideous, ape like face.

"Well, well, well, what do my eyes see before me? It would appear to be a ship full of heretics and dissenters who need to be put in their place!" Shipmaster Losmadus said with a sneer.

"What is the meaning of this treachery, Losmadus?-! Have you gone mad?-!" Ikha snapped.

"Oh no, Sangheili, I have merely had my eyes opened to your heresy! You, your race and your crew shall all die at my hands!" Losmadus replied, a passionate fire burning in his eyes.

"Heresy? You speak madness Losmadus! We have committed no crime! We loyally serve the Hierarchs! Serve the cause of the Great Journey!" Ikha roared in indignation.

"Your lies only add to your heresy, Sangheili, and I and the rest of my race shall wipe the galaxy clean of your impurity!" Losmadus shouted and behind him, his crew let out a great cheer.

"Silence this fool!" Ikha ordered, the fury quite clear in his voice.

Jora quickly complied and Losmadus' face quickly blinked out.

"The mongrel will pay for this act of treachery!" Ikha snarled as he bawled his hands into fists.

"Is this a coup, Shipmaster?" Vako asked with concern.

"Possibly, if it is, it shall soon be quelled! Activate the primary defences and concentrate all firepower on the _Purity of Sacrifice_! Strike it down!" Ikha ordered.

* * *

><p>In the brig of the <em>Twilight Inquisitor<em>, the captives were restlessly waiting for their fates. In one cell, a lone Human sergeant was lying facing the opposite wall, while in the one directly opposite, two more Humans were waiting. One was sitting down, while the other was angrily pounding on the energy projector that kept him contained in his cell.

"Hey! Hey, Squid Face!" Private Trevor McGinty shouted as he continued to hit the force field.

"Knock it off, McGinty." His cellmate, Private Erico Piscatella said wearily.

"Not until the split chinned bastard either answers me or lets us out!" McGinty snapped, briefly turning before renewing his efforts to break through the energy field with his bare hands.

One of the Stealth Sangheili who was guarding him, Morom 'Poramee, growled and turned to face McKenzie "You are wearing on my last nerve, Human. While I was specifically ordered not to kill you, my superiors never said anything about _maiming _you." At that, Morom activated the energy dagger he carried with him and held it up menacingly "Now, if you don't silence yourself immediately, I shall relish in cutting out your insolent tongue!"

"Just try it ya alien freak! I'd like to see you come in here, then we'd see who the superior species is!" McGinty shouted.

Morom opened his mouth to speak again, but was promptly stopped.

"Morom! Don't talk to the prisoners!" The other guard in the room, Zhem 'Wattinree, chided.

Morom growled and prepared to make a retort, when the ship suddenly rocked.

"What was that?" Zhem asked as he steadied himself.

"Bah, probably some idiot Jiralhanae helmsman asleep at his post in another ship, it wouldn't surprise me!" Morom replied.

Suddenly, there were noises directly outside of the brig, from the sounds of it, weapons were going off. Zhem and Morom exchanged puzzled glances before they hesitantly walked towards the door.

To their shock, a Sangheili Major came sprawling through, three Kig-Yar clinging to his form. It appeared that they were biting him and furiously tearing off pieces of the unfortunate Major's flesh.

Zhem stared at the scene in a combination of shock and horror as Morom roared and charged the Kig-Yar. The three Kig-Yar looked up from their victim and saw an angry Sangheili rushing at them, causing them to hurriedly pull out their weapons and open fire.

"Miserable cowards!" Morom shouted as he was struck repeatedly by plasma and needler rounds.

"Fire back you fool!" Zhem ordered as he pulled out his plasma pistol.

In return, the Kig-Yar activated their point defence gauntlets and absorbed the blasts with their shields. The foremost one raised his shield as Morom raised his hand and slammed it down into its shield, causing its fragile knees to buckle. It was soon finished off when Morom sliced through its armour and into its tender flesh with his energy dagger, before he brought he blade upwards and pulling it out through the Kig-Yar's jaw.

In the cells, Piscatella and McGinty were staring wide eyed at the sudden attack, both confused as to what was going on.

"Damn, what do you suppose brought that on?" Piscatella asked.

"Dunno, but as long as they're tearing each other apart, I won't complain." McGinty replied with a shrug.

"So, which side should we be rooting for?"

"For all I care they can wipe each other out."

"You know, Elites don't eat captured Humans, Jackals, however, do." A new voice said.

"Oh, 'bout time you woke up, sleeping beauty." McGinty said as he noticed the captive in the cell opposite sit up.

"Watch it, Private; you're talking to someone who outranks you." The figure said as he pointed to the insignia on his shoulder which indicated he was a sergeant.

"Fat lot of good that does us in here, what are you gonna do? Have me scrub my cell?" McGinty snorted derisively, now oblivious to the scuffle which was occurring outside his cell.

"Keep talking Marine, if we get out of this, I'll see you dishonourably discharged." The Sergeant yawned.

"Jesus, McKenzie, will you shut up?" Piscatella snapped.

"Listen to your friend, he has the right idea." The Sergeant said.

Outside, the remaining two Kig-Yar had now leapt upon Morom and were proceeding to tear into his skin with their needle sharp teeth.

"Get them off me! Get them off me!" Morom bellowed as he felt the tiny, yet sharp teeth of the Kig-Yar dig into his skin.

"Hold still!" Zhem shouted as he rushed to help his partner.

Morom scream's tapered off into pained gurgles as one of the Kig-Yar dug his fangs into Morom's throat and proceeded to tear it out, causing the doomed Sangheili to flail wildly with what little breath he had left. As he struggled he unintentionally sent Zhem reeling with a blow to his face, causing Zhem to stagger back...right into the controls of the holding cells, where in an attempt to steady himself, his palm slid across the security panel. In a sudden flash, the force fields keeping the prisoners in were deactivated.

"Ha, those stupid bastards! We're free!" McGinty shouted as he ran out of his cell and quickly picked up the downed Morom's plasma rifle.

Zhem, meanwhile had snapped one of the remaining Kig-Yar's neck like a dry twig and had rounding on the other. As he stood over the cowering Jackal, preparing to deal the fatal blow, three bolts of plasma struck it in the back, killing it. Zhem looked up in shock to see that the prisoners were now free of their prisons and were now wielding the weapons of the fallen.

"Well, this ought to be interesting." The Sergeant muttered as he picked up Morom's energy dagger.

* * *

><p>"Shipmaster, we have reports of arms fire in decks four through to seven!" Noga reported.<p>

"What? First a coup and now a mutiny?-!" A stunned Ikha said.

"It appears that the Kig-Yar and Yanme'e that are aboard have opened fire on the Sangheili, Unggoy, Huragok and Mgalekgolo forces." Noga said as he monitored his station.

"I'm beginning to think that this is more than just a simple coup." Vako noted.

"This is turning into an outright civil war!" Ikha snarled "Lock down the bridge, we cannot let any enemy forces breach our position!"

"Shipmaster, a swarm of Yanme'e is heading straight for us! They outnumber us heavily!" Jora announced.

"Lock down the bridge! Lock down all surrounding areas, that should buy us some time!" Ikha ordered.

"We're still taking damage from the _Purity of Sacrifice_!" Vako said, turning to face his Shipmaster.

"Accursed mongrels! Divert all available power to the weapons, I will not lose to those scum!" Ikha commanded.

"Sir, the Yanme'e are closing in! They're-they're right outside!" Jora said.

"I thought I ordered you to lock down all areas surrounding the bridge?-!"

"We did, Shipmaster, but a number managed to get through before I was able!"

Ikha cursed, the situation was rapidly getting out of hand. He was about to issue an order when a loud crackling sound filled his ears.

"They're trying to breach the doors!" Vako shouted as he pointed to the entrance to the bridge.

It was true, it soon became apparent to Ikha that when the Yanme'e had realised that they could not enter the bridge through conventional means, they had decided to force their way in. Still, that would take some time, and Ikha came to a grim realisation as to what he would have to do.

"I want everyone to cover that door! Prepare to fight for your very lives!" Ikha commanded.

At once, the six Sangheili and the two Mgalekgolo rushed to face the doors, their weapons raised.

"Sir, are you not joining us?" Vako asked as he watched Ikha command his post.

"I will be down shortly, but first I must do something drastic." Ikha replied.

"Shipmaster?" Vako questioned.

Ikha sighed and drew his cloak closer to his body "I'm awakening the Ascetics."

The bridge crew's eyes widened at the mention of the Ascetics.

"Shipmaster, surely you can't be serious! We have strict orders from the Hierarchs themselves not to bring the Ascetics out of Cryo-sleep!" Vako noted.

"Indeed, we did have those orders, but given the situation that we are currently facing, I feel that me may need to break our orders if we are to survive." Ikha replied as he pressed a button on his control console.

"May the Forerunners have mercy on us..." Vako whispered as he turned back to face the doors.

* * *

><p>In the depths of the ship a number of beings stirred from their slumber. They quickly exited the cryo-chambers from which they had been imprisoned and hurried to put on their armour. It was noticeably different from the normal Sangheili combat harness, having a completely sealed helmet, with two long spikes on either side of the head and thick torso armour. Having armed themselves, they stepped out into a corridor and came face to face with a number of Kig-Yar and Yanme'e forces, accompanied by several dead Sangheili. One Kig-Yar looked up, blood dripping from his jaws as he tore away the skin of a dying Minor, only to see a terrifying sight.<p>

"What are your orders, commander?" Gharm 'Vrotalee asked his commanding officer.

Gren 'Talamee, the leader of the Ascetic forces aboard the _Twilight Inquisitor_, examined his opponents closely, before he flicked his wrist and activated his energy sword. Then, he spoke in a calm voice, devoid of either compassion or mercy "Kill them. Kill them all."

* * *

><p>"Ok genius, just what the hell are we supposed to do now?" Piscatella asked irritably as he tightly clutched his needler.<p>

"We...we find escape pods, or a dropship or something and we make our escape." McGinty replied.

"But it's just the three of us! How the hell are we supposed to get through this ship to an escape craft unscathed?-!"

"Easy, that's what our hostage is for." McGinty said as he motioned to Zhem, who had been fitted with a pair of Covenant restraints that they had found within the brig.

"Well, this plan can't possibly fail." The Sergeant said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, do you have a better idea?" McKenzie questioned.

"Admittedly not, but this plan is suicide." The Sergeant said.

"He's right Human, you are all going to die in here." Zhem sneered.

"Aw, shut it, Squid Face!" McGinty snapped.

"Such arrogance, I wonder how long it will last when the rest of the crew recapture you? They do terrible things to escapees; shall I tell you the fates which await you all?" Zhem asked.

McGinty promptly struck him in the head with his rifle, drawing purple blood from the Sangheili. This only seemed to amuse him, however, as he let out a low chuckle.

"Bloody Split Chinned freak..." McGinty muttered.

"Uh...Sir, I didn't get your name." Piscatella said to the sergeant.

"Oh? Sergeant Kevin Apone, in all likelihood, I'm the last surviving member of Myrmidon Squad." The Sergeant replied.

"Sir, Private McGinty and I are the last members of Fire Team Lima." Piscatella informed him.

"Soon there will be no survivors of either."

"I swear to Christ, Split Chin, if you don't shut the hell up right now, I will-!" McGinty began as he raised his rifle threateningly.

"Shut up!" Apone snapped as he suddenly pressed himself flat against the wall "Enemies incoming!"

Piscatella and McGinty quickly did the same, with McGinty struggling to hold Zhem's mouth shut. A loud buzzing noise soon echoed through the halls as a dozen Yanme'e flitted down another corridor. To the surprise of the group, the Drones seemed to be firing at something that was coming up behind them. As the buzzing faded away, new sounds replaced them: The panicked screams of a lance of Kig-Yar.

"What the-?" McGinty whispered, only for Apone to raise a finger to his lips.

* * *

><p>The Kig-Yar Major known as Mok fired wildly at the figures who were currently tearing through his forces. It had been anarchy, they and a swarm of Yanme'e had been pursuing a lone Sangheili in strange armour when six more had uncloaked and attacked them. They had been sure that it would be a simple matter, the Sangheili were heavily outnumbered, there was no way they could win! To Mok's horror however, the Sangheili had proceeded to systematically annihilate his forces, cutting them down with ruthless efficiency. Blood coated the hallway as the Sangheili continued to tear his men to pieces with their swords.<p>

The Sangheili were ruthless, striking down all who ventured too close, bludgeoning those with shields with the hilts of their swords, caving in skulls and breaking limbs.

Although Mok felt that the situation could not deteriorate further, he was proven wrong when the Yanme'e decided to enact a strategic retreat, leaving the few remaining Kig-Yar to fend for themselves.

Realising how hopeless the situation was, Mok turned to flee...

...And ran right into the blade of a towering Sangheili. Mok let out a choked gurgle and coughed blood onto his killer. He tried to look up to face the Sangheili that had impaled him, but Mok was already slipping into oblivion. The last thing he saw was a pair of malevolent, glowing eyes.

* * *

><p>One by one, the screams died off, until only an eerie silence remained. Cautiously, Apone stuck the barrel of his plasma rifle around the corner and quickly pulled it back. Satisfied when no shots came, he hesitantly peered around the corner.<p>

"Jesus Christ." Apone breathed.

"What? What is it?" McGinty hissed.

"It's a fucking bloodbath is what it is!" Apone whispered in alarm.

The others hurried to see what had caused the commotion. They were not prepared for what they saw. Apone had been right; it had indeed been a bloodbath, as the hallway was strewn with the severed limbs of the Kig-Yar. Some had been dismembered, some had been disembowelled and Piscatella was particularly disturbed to notice that one had had its lower jaw roughly ripped, not as if it had been cut off, but as if it had been yanked off by something with incredible strength.

"Wha...what happened here?" A shocked McGinty stammered.

"Only a few creatures are capable of causing wounds such as these." Zhem murmured as he surveyed the carnage.

"Y-yeah? Like what?" Piscatella asked.

"The Flood, your Demon, Ascetics or Drinols." Zhem listed off "I highly doubt the Flood have breached the ship, there would have been an alert for that, the Demon is currently somewhere on the Sacred Ring, no doubt desecrating it and as far as I know, this ship has no Drinols aboard, so that only leaves the Ascetics."

"What the hell is an Ascetic?" Piscatella asked nervously.

"They are the most aggressive, zealous and powerful of my kind, if they are loose on this ship, then you stand no chance." Zhem said with a sneer.

"Great, so running around somewhere on this ship, are the Elite versions of Spartans. That's just fan-fucking-tastic." McGinty muttered.

"Somewhere close by." Apone pointed out.

"I say we get out of here as soon as possible, say, now?" Piscatella suggested.

"No objections here." Apone said.

"Fine, we'll leave right-Oof!" McGinty grunted as he suddenly stopped.

"What? What is it?" Piscatella asked.

"I-I hit something!" McGinty said.

"But...there's nothing there!" Piscatella pointed out.

"Oh, that's not quite true, Human." A voice spoke up.

Suddenly, several beings shimmered into view, surrounding the Humans.

Zhem smirked triumphantly "Humans, I present to you, the Ascetics."

* * *

><p>On the bridge, the Yanme'e were still attempting to breach through the doors.<p>

"Vako, how much longer will the doors hold?" Ikha questioned.

"At this rate, Shipmaster, a matter of minutes, no more than ten, I would say." Vako answered.

"Excellent, that gives me plenty of time to go over every decision that I regret, namely becoming a member of this fleet." Noga muttered bitterly.

Behind them, the Mgalekgolo rumbled impatiently, eager to join the battle which was no doubt commencing in the other areas of the ship.

"Bah! Enough of this! We should meet them, not cower behind these doors like some simpering mongrel!" Jora snarled.

"Seven Sangheili and two Mgalekgolo against forty-nine Yanme'e, oh yes, that will end very well, won't it?" Noga replied sarcastically.

"Better to meet the enemy than to sit and wait for death." Jora muttered.

"Silence, the pair of you!" Ikha snapped as he clutched tightly at his cloak with one hand, the other clutching an energy sword "They'll be here soon and then you can die however you wish, but for now, concentrate on the door!"

"Yes, Shipmaster." The two muttered in unison.

Suddenly, the sounds of the cutting laser stopped. In its place was the sound of muffled plasma fire and the high pitched chittering of dozens of Yanme'e. Jora and Noga swapped confused glances before returning their concentration on the door. After half a minute of the sounds of a battle, the noises abruptly stopped. There was a brief pause and then...

"Shipmaster?" Vako asked.

"Yes, Vako?" Ikha replied.

"Do my ears deceive me, or is there someone...knocking on the door?"

"It...it would appear so."

"Should...should we let them in?" Jora asked.

"Check the corridor security feed first, I don't want to fall into some kind of Yanme'e ambush." Ikha advised.

Jora ran to the CIC to do just that. His eyes widened as he saw who was standing outside "It-it's the Ascetics!"

"Open the doors!" Ikha commanded as he lowered his weapon, motioning for the others to do the same.

The doors opened, allowing the bridge crew to witness the carnage that had occurred in the corridor. White blood painted the walls and the floors and severed, insectoid limbs littered the deck. Standing at the forefront of the massacre were a group of Ascetics, numbering no more than seven. Behind them was an injured Stealth Sangheili and-too the great surprise of the bridge crew-three armed Humans.

"Shipmaster, a pleasure to see you again." Gren 'Talamee greeted coldly.

"Likewise, Ascetic Commander. I see you have dealt with the mutiny." Ikha noted.

"Only on this deck, there is still much to do and with your permission, I would like to lead my team to eradicate the rest of the mutineers." Gren replied.

"In a moment, first, a few questions?"

"Proceed." Gren said with a nod.

"First, why are the Humans not in the holding cell and second, why are they armed?" Ikha asked slowly.

"According to the mouthy one," Gren said, motioning to McGinty "One of the guards was killed during the mutiny and the other's incompetence led to them breaching their captivity. We caught them wandering around in the corridors nearby."

"I see, and they're armed because...?"

"We drafted them to help deal with the mutineers; they had little choice but to accept. Besides, with no surviving Unggoy present, we needed some cannon fodder." Gren answered.

"And are you aware of your targets?" Ikha asked, not willing to let Gren and his men accidentally kill any still loyal to the Sangheili.

"As far as I can see, just the Kig-Yar and the Yanme'e, we have the Unggoy held in check through fear and respect, they would not dare to oppose us. The Mgalekgolo are noted for their loyalty towards the Sangheili since the taming of their species, the Huragok are strictly non-combatants and as far as I know, we have no Drinols aboard this vessel, correct?"

Ikha nodded "Indeed, very well then, Commander, you and your team may deal with the threat in whatever manner you so choose. Uh, shall you be taking the Humans with you?"

"Preferably, at least until we find any surviving Unggoy. Unless of course, you wish to have them, Shipmaster?" Gren asked.

"No, you may continue to use them, as long as they present no threat." Ikha said after a brief pause as he considered it.

"Hey! We are not tools!" McGinty shouted.

"Shut up!" Piscatella hissed, stamping on his friend's foot.

"They certainly do show spirit, don't they?" Vako said.

"For an inferior species, I suppose." Gren replied as he and his men turned to leave.

It was all the two Humans could do to stop McGinty from having an anger induced outburst.

"Surely they are a sight to behold." Noga murmured.

"Indeed, a wonder why we've never utilised them sooner, they would decimate the Humans." Jora replied.

Vako turned to face Ikha "Shipmaster, if you have no objections, I wish to retrieve something from my quarters?"

"And what would that be?" Ikha questioned.

"I have an Assault Harness in my quarters, with your permission; I would like to use it." Vako said.

"An Assault Harness? The Hierarchs strictly regulate their use." Ikha pointed out.

"True, but given the situation and the uncertainty of the times, I think it may now be the time to use it."

Ikha considered it before he made his reply "Very well, equip it and hurry back; I have need of you here."

Vako nodded "Very well, Shipmaster, it shall be done." And with that, he turned and sprinted towards his quarters.

* * *

><p>In another area of the ship, a lance of Unggoy was frantically trying to hold off a group of Kig-Yar, who were packed shoulder to shoulder in order to maximise the strength of their shields. They were slowly but surely advancing on the position of the Unggoy forces. A shot from one of the Kig-Yar found its target, burning through the face of an unfortunate Minor. Beside him, two more were cut down, one when several needler rounds drove themselves deep into the Unggoy's skin, causing a small explosion, while another was driven to asphyxiation when a well placed plasma shot struck it in the throat.<p>

"Sir, we cannot hold them back much longer, we should flee!" A Major, Gadap, reported to the senior officer, an Unggoy Ultra by the name of Te.

"Flee to where? At this rate, they'll capture the whole ship! Where are we to flee then?" Te snapped as he leant from cover to fire a few rounds of his needler into the Kig-Yar ranks "Keep firing! Reinforcements will arrive soon!"

"At this rate, I doubt it." Gadap muttered as he took aim with his plasma pistol.

As if on cue, a Kig-Yar at the rear of the group was swiftly decapitated. The others turned in time to see a silver armoured Sangheili in unusual armour shimmer into view, his energy sword raised. To the horror of the Kig-Yar and the awe of the Unggoy, more came into view. The Kig-Yar shrieked in fear and tried to break ranks, but was so tightly packed in the corridor that they only succeeded in crashing in to each other. As Te and his soldiers looked on, the Kig-Yar were summarily slaughtered by the Ascetics, who tore into their enemies with their energy swords. They were amazingly fluid and graceful in their movements, almost as if they were dancing as they cut down their foes. By the end, only three Kig-Yar were left, and the terrified survivors hurriedly dropped their weapons and knelt down on the ground. To Te's horror, the leader of the Sangheili forces strode up to him.

"You, are you in charge of these forces?" Gren questioned.

"Y-y-yes, sir..." Te answered.

"How many are you?"

Te looked around "F-four, myself, two M-minors and a Major, s-sir." Te stammered.

Gren looked back on the cowering Kig-Yar "Tell two of your men to stay behind and guard the prisoners, you and another are coming with me and my men."

Te looked at Gren dumbly, before he snapped out of his stupor "O-of c-course, sir. You two, do as he says, guard those stupid Kig-Yar!" Te motioned towards the Minors, who hurriedly complied, not wishing to anger the Ascetics.

"You're making me come with you?-!" Gadap exclaimed.

"You're more experienced than either of them, you'll be more useful." Te answered.

"Oh, I'm so flattered...we're all going to die..." Gadap muttered.

"Oh, we're taking the Grunts with us? Perfect." An odd sounding voice spoke up.

Te and Gadap turned to find the source of the noise and were surprised by what they saw "Humans?-!"

"Do not fear, Unggoy, for now, they are aiding us, at least until they outlive their usefulness." Gren told them, glancing briefly at the Humans.

"Well, that's very reassuring." Apone muttered.

"Move out, we have much to do!" Gren ordered as another shot rocked the ship "I fear we do not have long to complete our task."

* * *

><p>On the bridge, things were not looking good. The ship was taking a beating from the <em>Purity of Sacrifice<em>, while the _Twilight Inquisitor _seemed to be doing barely any damage at all.

"Damage report!" Ikha ordered.

"We've received significant damage on deck seven and at this rate our shields may give way any minute!" Vako answered, now wearing his Assault Harness.

"We'll need to come up with something, and quickly if we are to survive." Ikha murmured as he clung tightly to his cloak.

* * *

><p>Below decks, in the Unggoy quarters, two Kig-Yar Rangers were scheming to sabotage the ship.<p>

"Are you sure this will work?" One of them asked.

"If all goes according to plan, the detonation caused by the gas suckers living conditions will damage the ship significantly." The other replied.

"And what of us?"

"With any luck, this will disable the ship and the Jiralhanae will be able to board it! Think of it, we'll be hailed as heroes of the Covenant, we'll be rewarded greatly!"

The other looked uncertain for a minute, before brightening "I'm convinced, let us go to work!"

The other gave a wicked grin "Excellent. Is your helmet sealed? Those gas suckers living areas are full of methane."

The other quickly checked "Yes, it's all in peak condition."

"Good, now we just go in, unleash more methane and damage the circuitry, with any luck a spark should destroy it all!"

* * *

><p>On the bridge, Ikha had received a transmission from Gren and his forces.<p>

"Status report." Ikha ordered.

"We have quelled the mutiny in most areas of the ship, the only remaining areas are the Unggoy chambers, and I doubt that either the Kig-Yar or the Yanme'e can survive the methane exposure." Gren reported.

"Very good, and what of the Humans?" Ikha asked.

"They still live, I must admit, they show...some amount of skill for an inferior species." Gren admitted begrudgingly.

Ikha was about to speak, when a tremendous explosion rocked the ship, causing klaxons to blear loudly.

"Damage report, now!" Ikha roared.

"The portside Unggoy chamber! It exploded!" Noga shouted the shock clear in his voice.

The two Kig-Yar's plan had succeeded, but it had done far more damage than they had anticipated, and they had been unable to escape the blast.

"What's the extent of the damage?" Ikha questioned.

"There's a breach in the hull, air and methane is escaping rapidly and there are high casualties in the area!" Noga replied as he examined the CIC.

"Seal off the deck immediately!" Ikha ordered.

"But sir, the soldiers in the area will suffo-!" Noga began.

"Do it! Do it now!" Ikha shouted.

Noga hesitantly pressed the button which would seal the fates of the survivors still in the Unggoy chambers.

"We need a plan, or we will perish." Vako said grimly.

Ikha scowled as he tried to figure out what to do. Suddenly, an idea struck him and he went back to communicating with Gren "Commander, how many Kig-Yar are still alive?"

"A few dozen, they do not even reach the triple digits." Gren replied.

"I want all of them in the hangar bay immediately; I think I have found a way to deal with the mutineers and our attackers!" Ikha said, a manic gleam in his eye.

* * *

><p>In the hangar bay, the remaining Kig-Yar forces were sitting nervously as they awaited their fate. Surrounding them were dozens of Sangheili and Unggoy, with what looked like three Humans among them.<p>

"W-what do you p-plan on doing with us?" A Kig-Yar Ranger stammered.

Gren stepped forward to address the captives "Put your feeble, treacherous minds at ease, we shall not kill you...provided of course that you do exactly as I say."

The Kig-Yar looked around nervously, anxious to learn what they had to do.

"I want you to pilot the boarding crafts and attach them to as many Jiralhanae controlled ships as possible; the ships will be specifically marked on your maps." Gren continued.

The Kig-Yar stared at him, the shock evident on their faces.

"You...you wish to attempt to board their ships?" A Major questioned "This is madness! Even if we could get by their fire, their soldiers would slaughter you!"

Gren pointed to him "You can be the first to go, just dodge the blasts as best as you can, we shall defend you as best as we are able."

The Major let out a wail of fear at this.

"And what is to stop us from simply leaving?" A scarred sniper questioned, a smirk on his face.

"Simple, we will fire on any that attempt to flee the battle and you will definitely die. Incidentally, you can join the first ship." Gren replied.

The smirk promptly vanished from the sniper's face.

A few minutes later, the first ship went out, soon followed by more. There were still a few Kig-Yar in the hanger, but their numbers had been thinned drastically.

"Well, now the only thing left to do is wait and hope that this plan succeeds." Gharm said.

"Better hope that those Kig-Yar are good pilots." Gren muttered.

* * *

><p>In the cockpit of the first boarding craft, the Major and the Sniper were furiously working the controls, desperate to avoid the hail of shots that were flying past them.<p>

"What do we do? What do we do?" The Major shouted.

"Just fly towards our target, the stupid Sangheili will be slaughtered and we can board the ship when the Jiralhanae are done with them!" The Sniper snapped.

"Our-our target is?" The Major asked, sweating profusely.

"The..._Purity of Sacrifice_."

* * *

><p>On the bridge of the <em>Purity of Sacrifice<em>...

"Sir, the _Twilight Inquisitor _has let out a wave of boarding craft, one of which is heading straight for us!" One of the officers reported.

Losmadus laughed uproariously at the news "What foolishness! They seek to board us with a pitiful one boarding craft?"

"Your orders sir? Should we swat it down?" The Senior Gunnery Officer asked.

"No, no! Let them board! We shall kill them like the vermin they are when they arrive!" Losmadus ordered.

* * *

><p>"Bring Shipmaster Losmadus onscreen." Ikha commanded.<p>

At once, the hideous face of the Jiralhanae Shipmaster appeared once more before them.

"Ah, I see it is the foolish commander of the _Twilight Inquisitor_! I am so _honoured_!" Losmadus taunted.

"We shall see how confident you remain when my boarding craft attaches, Losmadus." Ikha said calmly.

"Oh yes, I cannot wait until they arrive! We shall kill all your forces who attempt to board us! They shall die whimpering!" Losmadus shouted.

"Shipmaster, the boarding craft has docked with us, a team is there now." An officer reported.

Ikha smirked.

* * *

><p>On the <em>Purity of Sacrifice<em>, a pack of Jiralhanae was waiting impatiently for the boarders to show themselves.

"What's taking them so long? Why do they sit inside?" One of them asked.

"Perhaps they're in there cowering! They are simply too afraid to face the mighty Jiralhanae race!" Another shouted.

The other members of the pack let out a roar, clearly agreeing with him. However, after a minute of waiting, they begin to grow impatient.

"Bah! I shall drag them out here myself!" Another snorted as he climbed into the boarding craft.

"Well, what do you see?" The first one asked.

"It's...empty! There are no Sangheili aboard!"

"What? What trickery is this?"

"Wait, there is something in here. It's...ALERT THE SHIPMASTER IMMEDIATLEY!" The terrified Brute cried.

* * *

><p>Aboard the <em>Twilight Inquisitor<em>, Ikha was still watching as he saw Losmadus grow impatient.

"Why are they not reporting anything?-!" Losmadus snapped.

"Shipmaster, we have an incoming transmission from the pack leader."

"Bring him up! I want an explanation for this." Losmadus grumbled.

"SHIPMASTER, IT'S A BO-!"

The image of Losmadus abruptly cut off. The very last expression Ikha saw on the Jiralhanae's face before the picture cut out was one of complete shock.

"There goes the _Purity of Sacrifice _now, the antimatter charge certainly did its job." Jora said with a dark grin.

"Excellent, and the other ships?" Ikha questioned.

"A number of the boarding craft have been shot down, but at least three others have attached!" Vako reported.

"Very good." Ikha said simply.

"Sir, there is an incoming transmission from the ship, _In the Shadow of Truth_." Noga informed the Shipmaster.

"Ah, so the Prophet of Remorse himself wishes to address us, how pleasing. Bring him up." Ikha said, a small, yet smug smile upon his face.

Instead of the Prophet of Remorse however, the bridge crew faced Shipmaster Erebus, who did not look in the least bit pleased.

"You! Sangheili! We know what you are up to now and let me assure you that you will land no further boarding craft!" Erebus shouted.

Ikha turned to Vako "How many boarding craft do we have left?"

Vako quickly sent a transmission to Gren, who soon replied "Just one left, Shipmaster, along with thirty Kig-Yar."

Ikha grinned "Good, load two up and have their target be _In the Shadow of Truth_." Ikha ordered.

"As you command, Shipmaster."

Erebus scowled "They will not live long enough to come within spitting distance of my ship!"

"We shall see, send my regards to the Prophet of Remorse." Ikha said in a falsely pleasant voice.

Erebus growled before he cut off the communication.

"Sir, Erebus' ship has just launched three Phantoms and they appear to be pursuing a fourth." Vako said.

"Someone is trying to escape? Where are they headed, one of our ships?" Ikha questioned.

Vako glanced at the CIC "No Shipmaster, they're headed towards the Sacred Ring."

"Well, if Erebus doesn't want them to reach it, I saw we defend them! Fire on the Phantoms!" Ikha ordered.

"Targeting...now!" Noga said "One Phantom is down, repeat, one Phantom is down!"

"Excellent, now for the others..." Ikha murmured.

"Sir, they are now directly in front of Halo, a stray shot may damage it." Noga pointed out.

Ikha scowled in annoyance "Then one shall have to be enough. I pray that they reach the surface safely."

"Shipmaster, the boarding craft is 500 meters and closing, but the _Shadow of Truth _is concentrating all fire on it." Vako said.

"Set all armaments on the defensive systems of the _Shadow of Truth_, I want them disabled immediately!" Ikha commanded.

"400 meters and closing..." Vako said.

"Fire! Fire!"

"300 meters."

"Don't give them a moment's reprieve!"

"200 meters."

"Sir, our weapons systems are overheating! At this rate they'll overload!" Jora spoke up.

"Then we'll just have to risk that! Keep firing!" Ikha barked.

"100 meters!"

"But sir-!" Jora began.

"FIRE I SAY!"

"They're latched!" Vako announced.

"Yes, but now our weapons systems are completely fried and it's going to take us a while to get them back." Jora noted dryly.

"Never mind, those treacherous mongrels are as good as dead!" Ikha exclaimed.

"Those ones perhaps, but what shall we do about the rest of the Jiralhanae fleet?" Jora questioned.

Ikha paused.

* * *

><p>"Shipmaster! Their boarding craft has attached to us!" An officer shouted frantically.<p>

"Do something you fool!" The Prophet of Remorse cried, his eyes wide in fear.

"Quickly! Detach! Detach and enter Slipspace!" Erebus roared.

Buttons were pressed and soon the hindquarters of the ship broke off, leaving thousands of Jiralhanae, Huragok, Unggoy, Kig-Yar, Yanme'e and Mgalekgolo to their fate as _In the Shadow of Truth_began the jump to Slipspace.

* * *

><p>"Sir, they've detached from the latched portion of the ship and now they're attempting to flee! What are your orders?" Vako asked.<p>

"Pursue those mongrels and the false Prophet they serve! I want them hunted down and slaughtered!" Ikha shouted.

At that point, Gren's voice drifted through the com "_Shipmaster, there are still Jiralhanae forces on the ring, with your permission, I would like to take a contingency of troops to go down there and prevent them from further sullying the Sacred Ring_."

"Yes, go! Take as many men as you need! Just wipe them from the face of Halo! We will deal with Erebus!" Ikha snapped.

As The _Twilight Inquisitor _powered through space after _In the Shadow of Truth_, dozens of Covenant drop pods detached from the ship and made for Halo. Some were shot down during the chaos of the battle, but more still managed to reach their destination. As the _Shadow of Truth _manage to escape, the _Twilight Inquisitor _managed to get into its wake.

And all around, the battle continued to rage.


End file.
